


I‘m not drunk, I swear

by ItsKarla



Series: AaronDingleWeek2020 [2]
Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: Aaron and Vic are best friends, Aaron is 22, Drunk Aaron Dingle, Humour, M/M, Pining, Protective Robert Sugden, Robert is 28, crushing on your best friend‘s hot older brother, tan leather jacket alert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:54:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26974729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsKarla/pseuds/ItsKarla
Summary: Aaron is walking next to the road in the goddamn middle of nowhere, there are just trees and the empty street. It’s way past midnight and it is so cold! He deeply regrets his choice of clothes now. Maybe he is going to freeze to death here. Before he gets eaten by animals.Aaron can basically see the headline:Aaron Dingle (22) just wanted to have fun for fucking once and of course his sad arse ended up dead in the ditch.Or something like that.———In which Aaron wants to get laid - and gets something better instead.My attempt on prompt 2: "I-I‘m not drunk, I swear.“
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Series: AaronDingleWeek2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967143
Comments: 18
Kudos: 129





	I‘m not drunk, I swear

**Author's Note:**

> Oh I loved writing this one!! 🤣🤣  
> I hope you like it, guys.

“I’m not drunk, I s-swear...” Aaron slurs into his phone right after his call got answered, “...but has anybody said to you today how ffffucking amazing you are?” He shivers and shoves his left hand into the pocket of his jeans, but damn-

_ Fuck, skinny jeans, really! _

-the price that one has to pay for showing a bit of arse is too high, honestly. 

“Because you are,” Aaron continues, “totally, absolutely amazzzzzing. And you’re always… so...caring! That’s it! Caring. You are. Oh wait!”

There is finally a car approaching and  _ hallelujah! _ Aaron pulls out his hand, to raise it and lift his thumb.

_ Cmon, cmon, stop _

The car doesn’t slow down. If Aaron’s dizzy mind gets it right, it even speeds up as it passes him.

“Oi, you fucking wanker! Fuck you!” he shouts frustrated at the stupid backlights of the stupid car. “Why are people nasty arseholes, I’m asking you, whyyyyy?” he whines into the phone.

Aaron is walking next to the road in the goddamn middle of nowhere, there are just trees and the empty street. It’s way past midnight and it is so cold! He deeply regrets his choice of clothes now. Maybe he is going to freeze to death here. Before he gets eaten by animals. 

Aaron can basically see the headline: 

_ Aaron Dingle (22) just wanted to have fun for fucking once and of course his sad arse ended up dead in the ditch. _

Or something like that. 

“I’m so glad you’re different though. You’re an  _ angel _ !” he says enthusiastically. “You know I love you, right?”

There is just silence and Aaron wonders if the call got disconnected at some point and so he twists the phone to check the display. Although his vision is alarmingly blurry-

_ God, I’m sooo drunk! _

-he sees the seconds ticking.

“Hey, errr… you’re probably wondering why I’m calling you in the middle of the night,” he chuckles nervously and contemplates if he’s sounding hysterical, “and I wouldn’t call you, if it wasn’t an emergency, like an  _ epic _ emergency! Okay, the thing is…” Aaron takes a deep breath: “I’m kinda lost somewhere in the woods and it’s fucking freezing and I need someone to pick me up,” he rushes out.

There is another silence and Aaron swallows. 

“Please… I need you!” he adds.

He hears a deep breath on the other end, it sounds like a long, exasperated sigh. 

“Fine. Where are you?”

_ OH MY! SHIT! _

_ OH MY FUCKING- _

This isn’t Vic on the other end. Oh my god, Aaron wants to drop dead of embarrassment right now. This is  _ Robert _ Sugden, Vic’s older brother. He looks at the display again, tries to focus his eyes on the contact he called.

_ Sugden, Robert _

He called  _ Sugden, Robert _ instead of  _ Sugden, Vic.  _ Fuck, why does there have to be multiple Sugdens in his contacts?

“Aaron?” he hears Robert’s voice through the phone, sounding impatient.

“Yeah, yeah. What?” he stutters dumbly and slaps his hand on his forehead. Someone kill him, please.

“Where. Are. You.” Robert repeats as if Aaron is an idiot.

Which, in fact, he probably is. How on earth could he dial Robert’s number instead of Vic’s?!

“I don’t know,” he slurs, looking around, “there are trees.”

Robert is muttering something on the other end, Aaron can’t quite decipher it, but it doesn‘t sound much friendly. Rude.

“Just send me your position via whatsapp!” Robert snaps and-

_ Hey! Why is he so damn mean? _

It’s not Aaron’s fault that he is in this mess! Okay, alright. Maybe it is, a little bit. Anyway. He is in need, why would you be mean to someone in need?

A sudden wind gust has him shivering again and reminds him that he just wants to go home into his warm and cozy bed.

“Okay,” he mumbles finally.

“Just do it and then  _ stay where you are!”  _ Robert still sounds pissed off, then he just ends the call without a goodbye or anything.

Aaron stares at his phone, frowning. 

Robert is so… so damn infuriating! Ever since he moved back into the village a few months ago, his favourite hobby is winding up others. He is one of those people who makes Aaron’s blood boil by his sheer presence. 

How he walks around with his stupid shirts and suits as if he was in London’s bloody Square Mile and not just the Woolie in Emmerdale. Seriously, it’s ridiculous!

And also his personality, he’s so cocky and arrogant!

Aaron groans in frustration and tries to send his position on whatsapp. It takes him two attempts, because he hits the wrong button and  _ ugh! _ why does it all have to be so  _ small _ on his stupid display?

When he’s sure that Robert got his message, he puts the phone in his back pocket and starts kicking little stones with his shoes. 

Robert flaming Sugden. 

His return to the village came totally unexpected, not even Vic knew about her brother moving back. Aaron got all the gossip at first hand, because Vic is his best friend since early school days and she discusses her whole life with him. She always says he was a brilliant listener and so Vic talked and Aaron listened. He knew about the barn fire, about the fights with Andy, about Max’s death and why Robert finally left the village.

That was something he didn’t get, really. It sounded unfair to Aaron, why Robert-

_ May he be an idiot or not _

-was the only one who got the blame. He kept this thought to himself though. His interest in getting involved in the Sugden family feud was limited - he’s a Dingle, he has enough to deal with his own lot, honestly. 

Aaron tries to shove both hands into his jeans pockets. He’s non-stop shivering now and he starts pacing around to warm up. When that doesn’t help, he jumps up and down a few times, which is, in hindsight, a bad idea. His head starts spinning and he feels nauseous. 

All in all, he’s miserable.

“Fuck!” he curses out loud.

It’s all his own fault, sadly. 

Vic told him that he needed to go out more, ‘live a little’ or how she put it. It wasn’t that Aaron actually felt like his life needed changing-

_ I am perfectly happy with my life as it is, thanks. _

-but he agreed with her anyway - mostly to get her off his back. Vic could be so damn stubborn.

He really didn’t need a constant reminder of the fact that he has no boyfriend, that he hadn’t gotten laid in months and so he told her he'd go out tonight. Vic squealed so loud it made his ears ring and then she went through his whole wardrobe - which didn’t take long - to find him a ‘proper outfit’. 

Meaning an old pair of jeans he had only worn once before, and when he put them on, he instantly remembered why: they were so skinny, he could barely walk, let alone sit with them. She basically forced him to wear them with a  _ white _ T and a plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves. 

It didn’t look  _ bad, _ Aaron had to admit. 

When he wanted to put gel into his hair, she ripped the tube out of his hands and gave him the are-you-insane-look. Rude. Aaron loves his gelled hair. 

And that’s how she sent him off only six hours ago and that’s how Robert would pick him up soon. Aaron rolls his eyes. He can’t wait for the snarky remark his clothing would earn him. Surely Robert would pick up on it. 

_ Robert will pick up on it. _

His heart stutters. Aaron hates that his stupid heart does that, because Robert is a cocky shit, an arrogant douche, a smug bastard…

But still... he’s so damn pretty. 

With his perfect hair and his green eyes, his countless freckles and lush lips, his long fingers and broad shoulders he’s easily one of the most beautiful men Aaron has ever laid eyes on. 

Of course the biggest arseholes are those who make baby angels cry with their looks. 

Aaron doesn’t know how much time passed until he sees the lights of a car, he only knows that his teeth are chattering constantly now. He really hopes it’s Robert, he’s desperate for warmth. When the car slows down and he recognizes the silver Porsche, he lets out a relieved breath. 

The car stops and Robert jumps out a second later.

“Fuck, Aaron, where is your jacket?” Robert bawls him out. 

“Uh yeah, nice, good to see you too,“ Aaron mutters. 

Before his drunken brain can process the happenings, he is covered by something warm and soft and-

Aaron moans obscenely and closes his eyes.

_ Warm. That‘s amazing. Heaven. _

He feels hands on his back and shoulders, guiding him and Aaron just lets it happen. It‘s all good now. He’s warm. He sighs happily. 

When he finally sits in the car, he opens his eyes and looks down. It‘s Robert‘s leather jacket. The tan leather jacket. Aaron might or might not have jerked off a few times thinking about Robert in that jacket, doing the dirty. He blushes at this memory.

Robert throws the door shut and walks around the car to the driver‘s door. For a few seconds Aaron is alone in the dark and before he can stop himself, he buries his nose in the neck of the jacket and takes a deep breath. 

It smells like leather, but also like cologne. Aaron notices a faint trace of flowers and something fruity like lemon. It smells fresh and  _ delicious _ and like Robert. His eyes flutter shut again. He never ever wants to pull that jacket off. 

He hears Robert getting in the car and he expects to hear the roaring sound of the motor any second, but there is just silence. Aaron blinks his eyes open and glances to his right. Robert does The Glare™.

“What?“ he frowns.

“Your seatbelt,“ Robert says through gritted teeth.

Oh.

Aaron wants to reach back and pull the seatbelt around him, but his head is extremely foggy now and controlled movements are hard to manage. 

Robert sighs next to him and leans over to do it himself. The very  _ hot,  _ older brother of his best friend is suddenly half leaning across his lap-

_ Whoah whoah! Okay! _

-and he can’t remember that he ever felt cold, because a dazzling heat is spreading in waves from his belly through his limbs to the tips of his fingers. 

After the fastener is secured correctly, Robert turns the key. Aaron just stares at him. Robert made sure he‘s safe, that‘s… that‘s

_ Cute. _

Another problem occurs when his dick suddenly decides to demonstrate proudly his sincere interest in the older brother of his best friend. Aaron has to bite his tongue, because the jeans are so fucking tight, they're literally about to crush his Dingle. 

He tries to shift subtly around on the seat to find a comfy position and ends up opening the button of his pants.

_ Uh yeah, that‘s better. _

Aaron coughs loud to overlay the sound of the zipper, as he pulls it down. 

Smooth.

Robert surely hasn‘t noticed anything. Aaron glances sidewards again and the other man just watches the road, gripping the steering wheel tight.

“So, do I wanna know?“ Robert suddenly asks.

“What?“ Aaron frowns again, wondering if he‘s missed something while he freed Willie - 

_ Haha, I‘m so funny. _

“Why you‘re alone on the street in the middle of night, 20 miles away from Emmerdale,“ Robert clarifies.

“Oh that. It‘s Vic‘s fault,“ he pouts and it‘s like an old reflex back from school days.

“Careful.“ 

A pointer is raised towards him, a long and nimble finger. Aaron swallows, because he dreamt about those fingers more than once. Also the protective big brother mode is kinda hot.

“She said, I needed to go out more and I was stupid enough to agree,“ Aaron sighs, “Haven‘t been to this club in ages and I knew coming back was a mistake.“

There is a short silence.

“Sorry, if this evening didn‘t turn out like you planned it,“ Robert says and it sounds a bit stiff, even to Aaron‘s drunken ears, “surely you’ll pull next time with these hideous clothes.“

_ So he noticed the clothes. _

Aaron can‘t help but feel a bit smug about that random little fact. 

“Oh, I pulled,“ he says matter-of-factly. 

The bloke's name was Greg. Or George? Definitely something with a G. 

He was nice, not bad looking either. He was slim and tall, had blond hair. 

Aaron closes his eyes and groans inwardly. He can‘t believe he was looking for someone who was like a doppelgänger of Vic‘s older brother. 

“Shouldn't you be… occupied, then?“ Robert casts him a quick glare before he‘s looking back on the road. 

Aaron snorts at that. Using  _ occupied _ as a synonym for  _ fucking,  _ is such a Robert thing to do. 

“Yeah, I kinda was,“ he says slowly, thinking how unreal it is that he‘s sitting in a car, talking about his poor sex life with a guy like Robert Sugden! “He drove us here, into the woods.“

He swallows, suddenly feeling embarrassed. 

He was so stupid, to go like that with a stranger just to get laid on the back seat. 

“And then he left you here afterwards?“ Robert shouts angrily and Aaron jumps surprised at this sudden outburst. “What a fucker!“

“No, errr…“ Aaron scratches the back of his head, “when we got here, he wanted to…” he makes a hand gesture,

_ Ohmygod this is awkward. _

“you know. But I changed my mind and he didn‘t really like that.“

Aaron‘s throat gets tight when he thinks about how quickly Greg/George changed after he said stop. He was no longer a nice bloke, when he still tried to push Aaron back and hold him down. Only after he gave him a right blow with his fist, he let go. Greg/George called him all names under the sun, before he shoved him out of his Mercedes and drove off. 

Suddenly Aaron is pulled to the front, the seatbelt cuts hard into his shoulder and he lets out a very manly shriek, when the air gets pressed out of his lungs.

_ Ohmygod robert werehavinganaccident mum paddy robert _

It takes another second until he realises that they are  _ not _ having an accident. Nobody is dying.

Robert only did a full braking in the middle of the road.

“Are you hurt?“ Robert spits out in his direction.

Aaron clears his throat and swallows against a huge lump. There is the metallic taste of adrenaline.

“I don‘t think so?“ he says carefully, moving on his seat, “my shoulder hurts a bit.“

“Not-! I don‘t mean now, idiot,“ Robert growls and rubs his forehead,

_ Wow, rude. _

“I meant that bloke. Did he hurt you?“

Robert looks at him then, like  _ really _ looks at him. The green eyes scan with an urgent concern for his body, which is still wrapped up in the leather jacket.

Aaron just sits there. Blinks.

_ Is Robert worried? About… me? _

When he doesn‘t answer straight away - honestly, Aaron is kind of shocked! - Robert even starts  _ patting _ him, as if he’s physically looking for injuries. 

“What?“ he croaks out, feeling stupid.

“Aaron…“ Robert says exasperated.

“I‘m okay!“ Aaron insists and adds louder to emphasize: “I‘m okay!“

Robert freezes, then he lets out a breath and slumps back into his seat. There is another silence, where they are standing with a running engine on the empty street in the woods, and Aaron still tries to get his head around what just happened.

_ Robert cares about me! _

He wasn‘t aware that Robert even took notice of him any other than ‘the little sis’ weirdo friend‘. But what other explanation is there? His heart beat speeds up and his stomach does a little somersault. Robert Sugden is so out of his league, but he actually cares about Aaron! 

“How could you just go with that bloke?“ Robert snaps … and snaps him out of his giddy bubble just like that.

Aaron frowns slowly. “Eh?“ He really doesn‘t know what to make of that man, one second he is an adorable dork and the next one he is rude again. 

“You didn‘t even know him!“ 

“This is kinda the thing about a one-night-stand!“ Aaron shoots back. 

Robert huffs, grabs the wheel and puts his foot down again. Aaron just wants to go home now, all these ups and downs tonight are so damn tiring. 

“Still, it was reckless!“ Robert says snippily, because of course he wanted to have the last word.

“Whatever.“ Aaron crosses his arms and looks out of the window, because two can play this game. 

The dark trees are flying by and his brain is sobering up slowly, but his vision eventually gets dizzy and his eyelids heavy.

Aaron feels exhausted.

“What if that guy would have actually hurt you?“ Robert can‘t let it go, Aaron rolls his eyes. “I mean, he just left you out there in the cold. In the woods!“

The thing is, Aaron knows all that. He is angry enough with himself, he doesn’t need Robert to tell him how stupid and dangerous that was. 

“Why do you even bother?“ it bursts out of him, “why did you come to get me anyway?“

“Because you called me?“ Robert says, clearly irritated.

Aaron lets that sink in and goes very still.

Robert doesn‘t know that he originally wanted to call Vic. Robert must think he got called deliberately. 

_ You‘re fucking amazing. _

_ You‘re caring. _

_ I love you. I need you. _

Oh my god. Oh. My. God. OHMYGOD! Aaron gets hot and cold, when the realisation hits him of what he said to Robert earlier - when he thought he was talking to his bestie. This is horror, horrible horror. Aaron‘s stomach pulls heavily towards his feet, he feels sick.

_ Please don‘t let me barf in the stupid Porsche! _

Robert thinks he called him deliberately.

And Robert came. He came.

In the middle of the night. 

And he gave him a jacket. He made sure he‘s warm and safe. 

Aaron can‘t move, he is  _ that _ embarrassed, shocked, confused. Everything. He takes shallow breaths to get his nausea under control again. He just  _ can‘t  _ vomit now, he will never live that down. 

“Well, errm. Thank you,“ he says awkwardly after what felt like an eternity. 

Silence again. 

The dark road ahead of them, the humming sound of the motor and the smell of Robert‘s jacket are slowly calming him down again. 

He will go to sleep later and tomorrow will be a new day, where they both go their ways with occasional encounters at the Woolpack or the Café. It might be a bit weird and awkward for a few days, but by no later than next week it will be all forgotten. 

That sounds good. Aaron shifts on the seat until he is half lying, he rests his knees against the glove box and snuggles deeper into the jacket. God, he‘s so tired.

The events of the evening are taking their toll, his foggy brain just wants to sleep it off now. The last thing he notices is that Robert switches music on - some 90s boyband stuff - but before he can make a joke about it, his eyelids fall down. 

“Aaron?“

_ Noooo! Go away.  _

Someone is shaking him. “Wake up, we‘re here.“

Robert‘s voice. Robert‘s here. 

Robert came.

He is in the Porsche, wearing the tan jacket. Right.

It all comes slowly back to Aaron‘s sleepy mind. 

“M tired.“

There is a sigh, a click, a seatbelt moving and a door opening and closing. Cold air hits Aaron and has him shiver immediately. Seconds later the passenger door gets opened and then there is more  _ cold _ and  _ freezing.  _

Aaron whines unhappily. 

“C‘mon, Aaron.“

“Don't wanna,“ he mutters, eyes still closed.

Maybe when he just pretends to be still sleeping, he could block out-

Robert pulls him out of the car unceremoniously. Aaron tears his eyes open, feels himself stumbling and falling, but then strong hands grab him and stabilise him again. 

“Rude.“

Robert‘s free hand presses against his lower belly, holding him up. He stops and looks… down at Aaron’s groin and Aaron follows his eyes.

“Why are your jeans open?“ Robert asks and Aaron can  _ hear _ him frowning. 

_ Oh fuck. _

He wishes the ground would just swallow him up and end this awful awkwardness. 

“I just wanted to get comfy,“ Aaron mumbles quietly. “Took me a while on these seats,“ he adds just to tease Robert a bit and distract him from his open fly.

“Oi, don‘t insult my baby,“ Robert growls, but there is no real heat behind his words. 

Robert lays an arm around him and guides him towards the backdoor of the pub. The ice cold winter air and the warm, solid body pressed against his side are waking him up quickly. 

After they reach the house, Aaron struggles with pulling out the small single key from his tight back pockets. 

“Fuck, so tight,“ he curses.

He hears Robert taking a harsh inbreath next to him.

_ Oh great, surely I‘m getting scolded for swearing now as well.  _

But Vics brother just stays quiet, while he opens the door and thinks, this is it. Robert will go back to his car and he will go upstairs. But instead Robert gently pushes him inside.

“Upstairs now,“ he whispers, probably not to wake up Chas or Charity, and Aaron wants to ignore the buzzing feeling in his belly. “I‘ll help you.“

And before Aaron can protest, those determined hands and arms are moving him again and Aaron just goes lax. He will enjoy every second of that weird, unexpected development of this terrible night.

They try to be as quiet as possible, but in the silence of the house, Aaron fears they are stomping like a herd of elephants. 

When they finally reach his bedroom door, he thinks again that this is it. Robert will leave now. 

But Robert isn‘t leaving, he is opening the door and-

_ Fuck, I should have cleaned!  _

-switching the light on. Aaron‘s cheeks are burning with shame. Robert is probably used to modern lofts and fancy apartments with walk-in-closets for his custom-made suits. And now he is standing in Aaron‘s messy room, that hasn‘t changed much since his teenage days. Damn, he still has his Radiohead poster on the wall. 

_ Someone be so kind and kill me. _

Aaron falls down on the bed, face first to hide his blush in the pillows. 

“Okay, I‘m leaving now,“ Robert says quietly, “are you okay?“

“Fine,“ he says into the cushion, “thanks.“

There is a silence. Aaron can feel his limbs getting heavy again. The soft mattress feels like heaven!

“You should probably get out of them clothes…“ Robert suggests and Aaron is surprised that he‘s STILL here!

Aaron hums in agreement. He doesn‘t move. 

He never wants to move again. He‘s just so so tired. 

“Dammit, Aaron,“ another exasperated sigh. “you‘re killing me.“

Aaron‘s left shoe is being pulled off, then the right one. His brain tries to process that Robert Sugden is undressing him, tries to tell his body to bloody move, but damn.

This feels good, okay?

Robert pulls his jeans down, which takes quite an effort and Aaron is lying there and grinning into the pillow. This might be the only time that Robert Sugden manhandles him… plus his dignity went out of the window already when they entered the room, sooo…

Robert turns him around and starts tugging on his shirt. Aaron blinks his eyes open and needs a few seconds to focus his vision in the glaring light of his lamp.

Robert basically kneels next to him, is bending over him, while he peels him out of the clothes. Aaron looks at his face and boy, is this a sexy man. 

_ Hi. _

He imagines what it would be like being Robert‘s boyfriend, having  _ this _ every evening. Wow. 

He's tired - and probably still a bit drunk - mind starts mixing reality and dream, his crush is finally here, on his bed, taking his clothes off…

He mutters something. And then everything goes black.

— — —

Aaron wakes up with a drumming head and an awful taste in his mouth. He licks over his teeth and grimaces. This will be a nasty hangover day and he‘s dreading it already. He doesn‘t want to get up already, so he snuggles deeper under the blanket.

_ Blanket? _

He can‘t remember getting under the blanket, naked that is, except for his boxers. He can‘t remember taking off his-

_ Oh. _

He  _ can _ remember now. Robert was here.

Aaron smiles at the memory. What a crazy night that was! It seems so unreal in broad daylight, now that he is sober, he even wonders if it really happened. 

Anyway. If it was just a dream, it was a damn nice dream at least. He sighs. 

Aaron turns around and shrieks, then he‘s falling out of his bed, arse first. 

There is someone. There is someone in his  _ bed!  _

Aaron peeks carefully above his mattress and is met with two ocean green eyes. Robert looks at him with curiosity.

“You alright there?“ Vic‘s older brother asks with his adorably stupid trademark smirk.

“Amazing,“ Aaron scoffs. 

He gets up quickly, only to feel self-conscious a second later. He feels Robert‘s eyes on his naked chest and legs. Aaron wants nothing more than to hide back under his blanket, but ha! There is currently his crush lying, watching him. 

Aaron turns around and opens his drawer. He grabs the first T he sees.

“What are you doing here anyway?“ he asks, pulling it over his head, glad to escape that intense look for a quick moment. 

“You asked me to stay,“ Robert says quietly, so quietly, Aaron almost missed it. 

“What?“

“You said ‘stay’ last night.“

Aaron slowly turns around.  _ Gobsmacked _ is a good word to describe his face, because- 

_ Ex-fucking-cuse me, what? _

He asked Robert on the phone to come and he came. He asked Robert to stay and he stayed. 

Robert‘s face slowly falls and he sits up, looking for his clothes. “You know what, nevermind.“

He shoves the cover away and-

_ Oh yes, please! _

-he‘s only wearing briefs himself. They are black. Aaron stares at this perfect body, all slim and toned muscles. And there is so much perfect skin, he notices freckles on the shoulders too. Aaron wants to rub his scruff over them. His mouth waters.

“Wait!” he blurts out when his brain realises that the gloriously half naked bloke in his bed is about to get dressed. “I  _ do _ mind.“

Robert goes still with the shirt in his hands and waits for Aaron to continue. Which might be a little problem, because Aaron‘s mind is blank. There is a gloriously half naked bloke in his bed, for fucks sake! 

“C‘mon, Robert!“ he groans finally, “you are the one with words, I am just the awkward grump. Say something!“

“What do you want me to say, Aaron?“ Robert asks defensively. 

“You could have just hung up last night… but you came,“ Aaron says carefully and his heart is beating so fast and so loud, he feels like having a heart attack any second. 

“You needed help.“ Robert‘s face completely shuts down and he pulls on his shirt roughly.

_ Do you fancy me? _

The words are on his tongue, but Aaron can‘t say them out loud. They won‘t come out, it‘s like they‘re trapped. And so he stands there, watching helplessly how Robert gets out of his bed to put his jeans on. 

But it can‘t end like this, it can‘t! 

“Robert…” he croaks out, hoarsely. That‘s all he manages. 

Robert closes the buttons of his shirt with harsh little movements.

“I just wanted to pretend it‘s true, okay?“ he suddenly shouts. “That you actually called  _ me _ and not just hit my contact by accident! What? You think, I didn’t know you wanted to call Vic, not me? Of course I knew. I just wish you would come to me, if you need something.“ Robert‘s chest heaves heavily as if he just ran a mile. 

_ He wants you. _

_ He wants me? _

_ Yes, you idiot!  _

He wants to jump up and down and high five someone - not Robert though, because he wants to  _ kiss _ Robert. That stupid, cocky idiot! Aaron‘s body is buzzing with a wild energy, but instead of letting it out, he opens his mouth and asks: 

“I always figured you just think I'm your little sister‘s dingle brain friend?“ 

He’s grinning so broadly, his cheeks are almost hurting. Robert places his hands on his hips and his adorable smirk is slowly appearing back on his face.

“Well, you  _ are _ my little sister‘s dingle brain friend.“

_ Smug fucker. _

Aaron lunges forward and presses his lips on Robert‘s. He doesn‘t fully hit his target and it‘s just a quick peck, but it‘s a kiss.

And maybe a start. He wants it to be a start.

“God, Aaron,“ Robert grimaces, “you reek! Go shower!“

Aaron blushes, because-

_ Ew _

_ - _ Robert is definitely right. He really needs a long and hot shower now. He goes to his door, reaches out for the handle and stops himself.

“Will you stay?“ he asks.

“Do you want me to?“

Robert‘s still standing there, with his crisp white designer shirt, in his chaotic childhood bedroom. His eyes are so soft all of a sudden and his face so open and young. And oh, he has bed hair. The blond thatch is hanging floppy on his forehead and Aaron is in love.

Because this is not Robert Smugden, the cocky idiot, who sways around the village as if he‘s something better.

This is Robert, who looked out for him, who helped him in a shitty situation, who made sure he‘s safe and unscathed, who stayed with him after that frightening encounter with the other bloke. 

“Stay.“

_ Forever if you want. _

And so Robert does. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments? Thoughts?


End file.
